better than revenge
by Cherry Jolicoeur
Summary: Justifiably scornful, a changed marinette fills her classmates in on the dangerous game they're playing.


every school day was nothing but the same thing; it was lila making a show of charming the whole class with the same bullshit lies she comes up with on the fly. Before marinette made the decision of leaving for a while to reinvent herself and regroup after being cast aside by those she cared and loved for, she would be outed by many of the people whom she considered friends for trying to expose lila as the liar she is. There wasn't any relief then and now that she's returned, there might not be any left now thanks to the heavy tension born from the sudden stigma that made itself home in the air.

"Me and Mr Multiverse are actually friends. Best friends to put it simply." lila boasts, intending to elaborate on that claim further. "I received backstage passes to his concert last Tuesday morning, and i helped his entourage escort him to the hospital when i found him on the floor with a twisted ankle."

"You and steg aren't friends, Lila" a voice explained simply, even though her tone maintained a thick layer of ice to it.

The class recognised the source of the voice only to glare at who it was, but their glowers were lessened as clear and present shock now remained in its place as they carefully examined who it came from.

Before them stood a somewhat cynical looking Marinette with a shocking new appearance to match with her moderately prim personality. Her pigtails were lessened, finely styled in a side-swept curl that rested above her chest. In the place of her everyday outfit innocence lost its battle of contrasting with unbeatable poised elegance as she now donned a black sheath dress, neatly held together with a platinum belt to contrast with white heels and dark-tinted sunglass, the light separating the near monochromatic outcome of her whole outfit.

"Lying won't help you lila," she finally spoke up,amongst the lines of a late greeting, thinly veiled with the compassion she once had for her peers. "It won't save you, it won't get you anywhere, no matter how good you think you are at it when really you're not, no matter how elaborate you try to make one, even with making one out of a frame-up. If you want to get your way when it comes to taking the easy way out, you need to learn how to use a better method then just winning everybody over with all of these insane tall tales of yours."

"To put it simply,of all his years of being on this planet, I recently discovered that Steg really doesn't like deceit." Marinette clarified"The idea that you think of him as some stupid old man who'd take anyone's bullshit for a grain of salt highly baffles me. That's disgusting, the most disgusting thing you've ever thought about someone I've known and cared for since the time i first saw him. You really disgust me lila and it infuriates me instead of at least being smart you acted like an idiot and added to it."

The class withdrew with shock at those few sentences, knowing that right now marinette has, or in a way officially explained that over the week of her absence, how she had officially changed. Alya however burned with anger as she drove to walk towards an unaffected marinette with intent to chastise her only to be stopped at once when an equally upset nino held her back.

"But since no one's going to believe me one this one like always, i think it's best if i just test that theory right now. I don't mean to pry but this is the most ludicrous thing I've ever heard."

Marinette dialled steg's phone number in front of the visibly fuming forms of her peers, her eyes locked on her bright screen as her fingertips pressed against the numbers of her keyboard. As she waited for steg to pick up his phone she put her call on speakerphone for a more better understanding for everyone.

"Good morning, steg." Marinette greeted cheerfully, flipping a lock of her dark hair as its glossy finish glowed in the morning aubade.

"Hey there 'Nette." steg's voice followed over on the other line. The class went through a complete wave of shock from head to toe as they tried to register the sound of the voice resounding from the speaker of Marinette's phone; was that really the god of rock and roll engaging in brief conversation the once lower-level Marinette?

"Quick question; do you know anyone named Lila Rossi?" marinette asked, shifting her eyes to what she thought was visibly faltering lila twiddling her thumbs underneath her seat.

"...No? Uh..." Steg muttered. "I don't know who that could be."

Marinette resisted the urge to smirk as she tried to press him for more further details.

"Really? Did you ever play anywhere last tuesday morning? And to add that, did you ever have an ankle injury?"

Steg raised an eyebrow over the phone. "no. I never perform on mornings, and as for dates, I did a gig on Thursday night?" Steg declassified, openly confused over the set of questions marinette provided him with. "And i didn't then...last time i got hurt was a few months ago, and i got checked out for spraining my wrist."

Marinette could easily see how confused he was getting, and lamely released a faint sigh. "My gods, Steg i'm honestly so sorry for interrupting your breakfast by asking you all sorts of stupid questions." she apologised. "It just so happens that i walked in on this "Rossi" girl was making up a bunch of lies about this crazy encounter with you for what i obviously assumed is for attention, and i honestly want to see if this was true or not."

"Its fine, Nette, it's all good." Steg responded. Even though his voice was composed and collected as always, some things began to stick as it was true that Steg disliked the concept of dishonesty as unmistakable steel was tracked within his tone.

"I take it that we're still on for that beach trip with everyone else once you and your parents get settled in?" he said daringly.

Internal bewilderment was at a premium right now as it magnified within the students one by one by that sentence. Now he has plans with marinette to go on vacation with his entourage and their families?

'Ah, and you know it." she agrees playfully. "Again i really apologise in advance, i'll tell you everything you need to on the way back." she pressed the red hangup button, the phone proceeding to return to its black pictureless shade as the line went dead.

As marinette pulled the phone away from her ear, she interviewed the many pairs of eyes from everyone, before mainly turning her attention to a gaping lila.

"What i'd tell you?" she beckoned. "Thanks to your crazy sense of ignorance you've got the man you "saved" upset."

Behind the mask Lila internally boiled with high unmistakable rage, nothing but hatred and mortification overflowing her lithe being as like Alya she resisted a constantly ringing urge to lash out-until marinette finally stopped keeping the class in suspense as she beat her to the punch.

"Still i don't know what disgusts me even more: the fact that you have everyone mistook for fools which they are-and i can let them be my guest and excuse that to an extent since they were victims of your deception, the fact that you got said fools to turn against me, or the fact that now you've been exposed for one of your lies you so selfishly cling to your already torn apart self-image by running away from subjugating the forces of nature like the coward you are." Marinette established bitterly.

Marinette withdrew from a now less-infuriated lila, who clearly looked like she had been roughly slapped across the face with a glove made of leather. she later turned to her peers, their once angered faces now replaced with openly appalled stares every which way.

'If you're wondering about certain questions you want to be answered i have a friend who lives in Delmarva who's also friends with his nephew" marinette explained. "My parents took me out of the city to get away for a while, and all three of us met at steg's party. Steven introduced me to him and he and Sabrina showed him my depop and he was really impressed with my designs, so we worked a few things out and now he made me a part of his "Star-Studded" entourage. At that moment it was like one big family reunion. Steg's also good friends with jagged stone if you're wondering; if you get the picture the only conclusion i can draw from that after we all had some words jagged does not own a pet cat, and he was insulted at the concept of ever thinking he'd had one."

Piece by piece almost everything was nearly staring to come together, the class proceeding to shift their eyes to a pale lila who gently slumped in her seat. Everything about her plan was beginning to fall apart for her. This nothing but a truly perfect empire of the whole student body kissing the ground she walked on she built from the ground up-and it was all thanks to the goddamned marinette.

Marinette's shoulders lowered with exhausted defeat, giving her peers an openly downcast look. "I know what you all are expecting; to me to kneel and apologise to Lila over and over again, like a thousand times. i would, to be honest I'm completely honoured-but i can't."

"You...you can't?" an incredulous Alya replied, attempting to break into the clearing as she did.

"Yes, today's my last day here." marinette announced ignoring the many startled faces of her fellow classmates. "Well, at this school. tomorrow's my last day in paris to be in fact. I just recently discussed the idea of changing schools with my parents and they helped me out on sending in a transfer request ahead of time. I was really afraid to tell you guys since i didn't want to risk losing my greatest friends, but since now that our ties are officially broken and since it's my last day of staying here i might as well go out with a bang you know?"

As of now marinette gave the students some time to regroup themselves over what just happened, averting the overlapping storm of apologetic looks she was granted by most of her classmates.

"Honestly, congratulations lila." she applauded. "It looks like you finally got your way. all you did is basically made yourself into nothing but a potential danger to be around in a big social circle and the worst-case scenario is that you're too much of a lying two-faced bitch to have any real friends and you only act the way you do over such an immature and childish whim. If you want to have what you'll probably never have so bad by pushing me over the edge i think that before you go far you need to learn how to actually grow the fuck up and go figure out an actually natural way to have a social life, because ruining someone else's life clearly isn't the way to get you to the top. Again congratulations because right now Lila Rossi has finally now officially or suffice it to say finally got her way. You deserve it-like seriously, really now-good for you."

"And everyone else you disgust me, especially you alya. I can't believe any of you. From the bottom of my heart i really showed that i deeply cared for each of you in my time of being here, i did everything for you because you guys were my friends and friends should have each other's backs no matter what the cost may be, and the crazy thing that you were so convinced that i turn my back on you to do something absolutely terrible seriously disgusts me. I feel like its hardly even worth saying anything right now because all i've ever done is tear the clothes off my back to you only to realise that up until here you decided to throw me out like trash thanks to her. I'm just wondering, why do you even want to apologise because now's actually the perfect time to pity yourselves for your stupidity all you want."

Everyone in the classroom save for marinette's true friends blanched.

"I just want to thank all of you, really" Marinette declared "So far Kagami, chloe, luka and juleka are the only ones who helped me through my time of need. Thanks to their generosity it took me a good while to actually realise the lies that were in each of our friendships and to know that it been this way for a long time really hurt me. all you need to know is that I'll really miss each of them even though we live what i could assume is at least a 14-hour flight away."

"And also Adrien I've seen that chloe's upset with you too, so i guess it looks like she won't be latching onto you as much anymore," Marinette officially classified.

Adrien was far away in the back averting the looks he was given as he silently wilted with remorse.

The whole room fell into silence, the clicks of heels against the hall floors from out the door picking up and becoming more apparent in the classroom as it slowly began to break it.

"Ah, that must be bustier on her way right now." Marinette assumed, opening her purse and storing her phone inside. she walked over to her seat, not looking back from the damage she'd done after that.

"Thank you so much for your kind cooperation ladies and gentlemen, let's hope I have a good last day."


End file.
